Try It Tuesday: Trader Joe's Whole Wheat Hamburger Buns

 

The packaging on these hamburger buns make them seem like they should be part of a summer picnic. Aside from the package they are in, they are very tasty. They are soft and have a good flavor. I definitely give them 2 thumbs up. The ingredients are:

100% stone ground whole wheat flour, water, barley malt, wheat gluten, yeast, cold pressed corn oil, sea salt, cultured wheat flour, soy lecithin, sesame seeds. 

One bun has only 2 grams of fat and 1 gram of sugar. That same bun provides 5 grams of protein and has a minimal amount of calcium and iron.

Next time you are at Trader Joe's, why not pick some up for yourself? :)

Until next time.... God bless!

Yummy Vegan Cracker Recipe AKA The Accidental Cracker

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Well guys and gals, I made crackers today. I've made them before, without a whole lot of success. But, today I made them on accident, and what do you know? They're actually good. :) It's better to learn to make crackers accidentally than not at all though, I guess. lol

It happened like this... I was heating up some tortillas and thought I had cut the oven off, but oops I didn't. :) Here's how to do it on purpose:

1. To make these crackers, simply make smaller versions of the tortilla. 
2. Then, pop them in the oven at 350 for about 20 minutes. (Be sure not to burn them.)
3. I suggest adding onion powder, garlic powder, nutritional yeast, and your favorite spice to the dough. Maybe even a little stevia if you want a hint of sweetness.

These would go good with any soup or chili, or as a snack by themselves.

Until next time.... God bless!

Yummy vegan biscuit recipe!

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This recipe is so easy to make, and so tasty. I like to put a little fruit juice sweetened strawberry jam in mine. :) This recipe makes 8 big biscuits. For this recipe you will need:

• 2 cups unbleached flour
• 1 cup water or milk of your choice (soy, almond, rice, hemp, etc.)
• 1 tablespoon coconut or olive oil
• dash of salt
• 2 tablespoons baking powder

1. Mix ingredients well.
2. Put scoops of mixture onto cookie sheet.
3. Bake at 350 for about 30 minutes or until done.
4. Enjoy!

Until next time.... God bless!

Yummy Tortilla Recipe! :)

The only complaint I have about these homemade tortilllas is that I didn't made them sooner! They are SUPER yummy, fun to make, and contain no icky aluminum like ones you buy in the store! I found this recipe at The Veggie Table. This recipe makes about 6 tortillas. For this recipe you will need:

• 1 cup of unbleached flour ( I use a mixture of unbleached and wheat)
• 2 tablespooon oil (I use coconut oil)
• 1/2 cup of water
• touch of salt, to taste 

1. Mix flour (salt) and oil together well. You should use your hands to mix the oil into the flour so well that it appears to be damp.
2. Slowly mix in the water. Stir well.
3. Let sit for about an hour.
4. Seperate dough into six balls.
5. Flatten them out in sphere shapes, not using any oil or flour while kneading.
6. Cook on ungreased frying pan or wok on low to medium heat, until slightly brown on each side.
7. Put tortillas onto a plate inside of a large plastic bag. Close immediately after adding each tortilla as the steam makes them pliable.
8. Enjoy! :)

Until next time.... God bless!

FlatOut Flatbread product review

I picked up a flatbread to eat my Cauliflower rice in while at Food Lion over the weekend. I had never tried it before, so I really didn't know what to expect. However, the soft tortillas I had been using had aluminum as an ingredient, which is one of the things that I try to avoid for my family and myself.

I purchased Flatout Flatbread Light, the sundried tomato variety, to be exact. I only wish I had tried this sooner! This bread is so light. It is tasty, yet not overpoweringly so. It does let the filling take the spotlight, so to speak. :o) It is made with whole wheat flour. It has no aluminum, hydrogenated oils, or sugar. And as far as I can see, it has no MSG. And, it is vegan.

With only 90 calories , 2.5 grams of fat, 9 grams of protein, and zero grams of sugar per serving- this will be my bread of choice. :o)

Chinese dumplings filled with veggies

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I was looking for an alternative to the basic egg roll recipe, so I decided it would be a good idea to put egg roll filling in dumplings. I searched online and found a very nice vegan Chinese dumpling recipe on chinesefood.about.com. I filled these dumplings with egg roll filling. Skip on over to the egg roll  page to learn how to prepare the filling. I'll wait....

Now that you're back, let's talk dumplings. These were easy to make, and so fun to do. Sure, they took a little time, but it was a rewarding venture.  The dough recipe is simple. You will need:

• 3 cups all-purpose flour
• up to 1 1/4 cups cold water
• 1/4 teaspoon salt

1. Mix the following together and put a little olive oil on the dough ball so it will be easier to work with. Separate your dough into about ten pieces.
2. Then, one at a time flatten out your dough pieces and put a teaspoon or two of filling in the middle. 
3. Next, fold dough over and press edges together.
4. Then take a fork and make pretty designs along the outer perimeter that you joined, making the union stronger.  
5. Here is what mine looked like during the process. Not a great pic, but you can get the idea. Notice how the dumplings are in different stages of preparation:

6. Once you have your dumplings ready, put them into a pot of boiling water. I put some ginger, sesame oil, and soy sauce into the water to flavor it.
7. Stir dumplings immediately to separate them, then let them cook for about 30 minutes.
8. To add more flavor to your dumplings, stir fry them in a little sesame oil until slightly crisp on both sides.
9. Add soy sauce and serve.
10. Enjoy! :o)

God bless!

Read more about me here.

Yummy chocolate zucchini muffin recipe

During a recent visit to a nearby cafe', I tried the chocolate zucchini muffins, and I was very pleasantly surprised with the taste! So, online I went searching for a vegan recipe. I finally came across one that looked good at Happy Herbivore. They were fun to make, and I am very happy with the results! They are tasty, and I made them sugar free.

First I will share my photos, then the recipe....

Here is my grated zucchini:

The super yummy batter:

And the end result, muffins! :

Here is the recipe. I of course modified it slightly from the original.

Ingredients:

• 1 1/2 cups unbleached flour
• 1/4 cup cocoa
• 1 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1-2 tablespoon(s) agave nectar or honey
• 1 whole banana, smashed
• 1/2 cup applesauce
• 1/4 cup almond milk
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 cup shredded zucchini

1. Preheat oven to 350.
2. Grease cupcake tin with a bit of coconut oil.
3. Mix all of the dry ingredients together in one bowl.
4. Mix all of the wet ingredients together in another.
5. Pour batter into cupcake tin, one tablespoon of batter per section.
6. Bake for about 15 minutes. These don't take long!
7. Enjoy! :o)

Pizza Crust

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Here is a tasty and relatively easy pizza dough recipe. You will need:

• 2 1/2 cup flour (I use about 1 1/2 cup unbleached flour and 1 cup wheat flour)
• 2 tbsp coconut oil
• 1 cup warm water
• 1-2 tbsp honey or molasses
• 1 package of yeast
• 1/4 tsp. salt
• 1/2 tsp onion powder
• 1/2 tsp garlic powder
• a little olive oil for drizzling
• (1/2 cup corn meal if you are making the mexican/southwestern pizza)

Take your one cup of warm water and stir in the honey and yeast. Let sit for about 10 minutes until it is frothy.

In a bowl mix your flour and coconut oil together by hand. (Mix in the corn meal now as well if using.) When it is fully  mixed it will look like damp flour. You don't want any lumps.

Add the onion, garlic, and salt to the flour and mix.

Add the yeasty water to the flour and mix well. You will need to use your hands.

Drizzle with olive oil and let rise for about 30 minutes.

This makes enough dough for 2 small to medium sized pizza.

Enjoy!

* To keep pizza from sticking to pan, dust pan with corn meal! :o)

('’)

God bless!

Read more about me here.

Pita pockets recipe- yummy, vegetarian, and versatile!

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Pita pockets are really fun to make, and you can put just about any filling into them that you want. Even the healthiest of breads may have ingredients you don't really care for, so making pita pockets is a great way to have bread on hand for 'sandwiches' during the week! :o)

I have based my recipe on the pita pocket recipe on about.com, though it is not the same, as I have made some yummy additions and healthier substitutions. For this recipe you will need:

• 1-1/2 tsp salt
• 1-2 tbsp honey or molasses
  
• 1 package active dry yeast
• 2 tbsp coconut oil
• 1 cup warm water
• 2-1/2 cups bread flour
• 1-2 tbsp dried thyme
• 1tsp garlic powder
• 1 tbsp crushed dried onions
• Your favorite herb- (Basil is another on of my favorites and a good addition.)
  

First, put the honey or molasses and yeast into one cup of warm water and let sit for about ten minutes until frothy.

Then, place your flour into a bowl and stir in yeast water mixture. I use about 1 1/2 cup unbleached flour and 1 cup of whole what flour.

Next, add oil and the rest of your ingredients.

Stir as well as you can, then mix and knead with your hand. This is where the therapeutic part of bread making begins. :o)

Separate dough into 4 to 8 balls, depending on the size of pita pockets you want, and place on cutting board to rise for about 30 minutes. You may need to dust balls with flour while shaping. This is what you should have at this point:






Now, take this time to lightly grease a cookie sheet and preheat your oven to between 450 and 500 degrees. (An alternative method is to cook them at 350- they won't puff at this temperature but they will be softer and you can cut in your own pockets, or roll veggies inside.) You will only have to cook the pita pockets for about five minutes. The higher temperature will cause them to cook quicker and rise quickly resulting in the pocket. If you bread comes out without a pocket, don't worry. Once you cut your pita bread into, you can easily cut a slit in the center of the bread halves, creating your own pocket.





Once the dough has risen and you are ready to cook your pita pockets, flatten your dough balls out to roughly the size you want your pita pockets to be, being careful not to create ones that will be too thin to have a pocket. This is how mine looked at this point:

Place in the oven and cook for about five minutes, or until done. You don't want them really crusty, but not doughy either. A good way to tell if they are done is if they are lightly brown on the bottom.

Once they are cool, cut in two. Fill with something yummy like vegetables, hummus, almond butter, or salad. Enjoy!

 

('’)

God bless!

Read more about me here.